This recipe is inspired by the famous chopped salad at La Scala in Beverly Hills. It’s a simple chopped salad but the chickpeas are my favorite part. If you want to make them really flavorful, you can marinate them overnight instead of just an hour. You can also omit lettuce and use the rest of the ingredients to make pasta salad. Use your favorite pasta shape, toss ingredients and refrigerate!

Ingredients:
For the salad:
- 3 cups romaine, chopped
- 3 cups head lettuce, chopped
- 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1/2 cup tomatoes, chopped
- 1/4 cup pepperoncini, sliced
- 1/2 cup bocconcini mozzarella
- 1/2 cup salami, chopped
- 1/4 cup Pecorino Romano
- Coarse salt to taste
- Fresh ground black pepper to taste
For the dressing:
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 tsp shallot, minced
- 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 tsp oregano
- Coarse salt to taste
- Fresh ground black pepper to taste
Process:
- Whisk ingredients of dressing together in a bowl.
- Pour 3 tablespoons of dressing over chickpeas, toss and let marinate in the fridge covered for an hour or two.
- Assemble salad ingredients together with marinated chickpeas and dressing. Toss and garnish with more Pecorino and half a lemon squeezed over salad. Toss again and serve with crusty bread and Chianti!
Source:
- Featured and main photo (Pinterest)